Wreck the Halls

This book was just what I needed after a November of somber reads. A Holiday Read I grabbed off the end cap at Target- and it was such fun. Not my usual fare in any way shape or form- imagine a steamy Hallmark Movie in book form with two famous moms thrown in for comic relief and star power. I liked the ingenuity of this story line- the children of a famous female rock duo attempting to reunite their mothers- CLEVER PLOT. Then add in two main characters both likable with their own interesting internal narratives and now we have a STORY!

This was my first Tessa Bailey so I was not prepared for her steamy sex scenes- so ya know- here's your heads on that front. The female lead- Melody is particularly well written and has some great, funny dialogue and one-liners. And again -the aging rock moms are cool too- solid snappy dialogue between them. The reality tv-streaming show concept worked well here -probably because unlike other similar plot lines it wasn't scripted or edited. It didn't get in the way of the story.

If you enjoy second chance romances, set during the Holidays this one is for you. And of course, you can't beat the NYC setting at Christmas.

Wreck the Halls is my local book club's pick for this month. If it hadn't been, I probably would not have read it, as I remember glancing at the blurb on the back when the book came out and not being interested enough in the story to buy it.

The book is about the adult children of a famous rock duo that split up decades ago. A reality TV producer conscripts them into convincing their mothers to agree to a Christmas Eve reunion performance with the promise of a good chunk of money for each of them if they succeed. Enter the internal and external antagonists that exist for subplot purposes and you have an entirely predictable, lighthearted, yet too-spicy-for-Hallmark romance.

Personally, I felt like the book alternated between being amusing and being a little too easy to put down. Though the characters were decently developed (though not without their inconsistencies), I found myself rolling my eyes at them at times, and the plot left me feeling bored more than once. There were a few scenes that came across as utterly ridiculous or unrealistic, and that left me feeling like the story itself wasn't believable. If I hadn't wanted to finish reading it before my book club meeting tomorrow, I likely would have DNF'd the book.

Overall, it just ended up not being a good fit for me. As my first Tessa Bailey book, it didn't leave me wanting to try any of her others.

Typos / editing errors: multiple
Language: heavy (79 uses of the f-word / its variations; 230+ uses of other obscenities)
Spice: explicit